Hickory dilemma

[cow]

I know that hickory is a pretty strong smoke, but I just do not understand why it is that every single time I try to use it, my food comes out horribly over-smoked. No matter how little of it I use, it overpowers everything and ruins my food.

I've tried pellets, I've tried chips, I've tried chunks. I've tried it in a Pit Barrel and in my Weber Summit Charcoal. I've smoked meats and cold smoked cheeses. Every time, without fail, my food comes out over-smoked. At this point, I've all but given up trying to use it.

Last time I smoked a brisket - 14 hours low and slow - I tossed in ONE chunk of hickory no bigger than a small lemon, with my usual mix of cherry, pecan and mesquite chips, and my brisket was ruined. Couldn't taste any other smoke except hickory and it had completely over-smoked the meat.

Yet, folks with big trailer smokers are throwing log after log of the stuff in to smoke their meats and winning competitions with it. BBQ joints use it and put out some dynamite barbecue.

I am thoroughly convinced at this point that hickory is not well-suited for small smokers, and for some reason, perhaps due to some unwritten law of physics, only works in large smokers.

*table flip* :doh:

I give up.

 

[jbounds286]

i tried oak in my shirley offset for a few cooks, i honestly couldnt tell any difference in taste vs oak(which i went back to for being cheaper, and burning hotter and longer). never tried it in my weber summit kamado, maybe ill pick some up next weekend(i currently use a chopped up whiskey barrel for my chunks, and its the best smelling smoke ever)

 

[SMOKE FREAK]

Hickory in a live fire is awesome and hard to over smoke.
Hickory in a smoldering charcoal smoker is a different story.
But even then, I find it great. Of course, the chunks I have for my charcoal smoker are kiln dried which takes most of the goody right out of it IMO.

 

[cow]

Hickory in a live fire is awesome and hard to over smoke.
Hickory in a smoldering charcoal smoker is a different story.
But even then, I find it great. Of course, the chunks I have for my charcoal smoker are kiln dried which takes most of the goody right out of it IMO.

That must be it.. live fire. My hickory is kiln dried too. Maybe the flames are burning off the soot or something, and if there's no fire, all that soot escapes and sticks to the meat. Or maybe some other property of combustion that I don't completely understand.. It's odd though that I only have this issue with hickory. All my other smoking woods do their job as expected. Hickory is the only one I have trouble with. If by chance my theory is correct, maybe that is why hickory is such a strong smoke .. produces more soot compared to other smoking woods.

 

[Inthewoods]

My hickory is kiln dried as well. Works good in the IVS, not over smoked at all. It doesn't shine through on the Santa Maria, most likely because it's kiln dried so I just stick with lump, but I do catch myself at times adding the hickory sticks, but that's blamed on habit vs any real ROI.

-D

 

[Itsdone]

I hate the fact that the only logs i can buy local retail is Hickory or even worse, Mesquite. Oak is almost impossible to find locally since most sources just sell "firewood" and i don't trust there responses when i ask for "Oak for smoking" And don;t even get me started on seasoned and storage.

 

[mike243]

You might just not like hickory, pecan is very similar imo

 

[JAKs Q & brew]

For kiln dried, I do find hickory to be a bit overpowering. I found some maturally cured stuff and it seems to be much better and give a really distinct hickory flavor.

It might be a bit counterintuitive, but I have found using larger chunks of hickory has helped to not overpower with smoke.

 

[Inthewoods]

For kiln dried, I do find hickory to be a bit overpowering. I found some maturally cured stuff and it seems to be much better and give a really distinct hickory flavor.

It might be a bit counterintuitive, but I have found using larger chunks of hickory has helped to not overpower with smoke.

Agreed. In the IVS, I use splits not chunks.

-D

 

[Smoking Piney]

I use hickory chunks in my smoker - sparingly. The kiln dried chunks or chips can get too intense quickly. Mesquite is even more intense. Some meats, like poultry or fish, can get over-smoked quickly.

I have found pecan to be a good "middle of the road" wood to use for smoke. It's more gentle, with a good smoke taste. You just need to moderate the amount you throw into the coals. A little dab will do ya! :-D

As far as cold smoked cheese goes, I hope you're not eating it right off the smoker. It will taste like an ashtray. I vac-seal my cheese and let them get happy in the fridge for at least a couple of weeks before I eat them. It allows the cheese to absorb the smoke and greatly mellows the taste.